Everyone wants to help the Ukrainians. It’s a normal reaction after watching the nightly news about the unprovoked destruction wrought by Russia.
Danny Quint Jr. of Conway was upset, too — so much so that he traveled to Poland recently to volunteer at a relief shelter for Ukrainian refugees.
“I couldn’t just stand back and watch,” said Quint in an interview in North Conway Village on Wednesday.
“I wanted to help create awareness of what is going on over there, and I did it because I could,” he added.
Armed with cash and a desire to help, the Conway native did some research about shelters in Poland where Ukrainian refugees have been taken care of since Russia invaded Feb. 24.
On May 31, Quint flew from Boston to Copenhagen and then on to Warsaw. He then took a train to Krakow.
After arriving in Krakow, and a delay in having had his emails returned from the volunteer group he wanted to help, he went to the city hall and spoke with the city’s social services director. He was sent to meet the shelter’s director and was welcomed by the team of volunteers.
The shelter was the Internationaler Bund Polska, and its director is Maria Wojtacha.
“The following morning, I went as directed to the shelter and did what I had been told to do. There was a line of people down the sidewalk — they come in once a week to get food, along with pillows and clothes and blankets,” said Quint.
“I gazed down the line. And I saw these beautiful little kids, so innocent, and I had to turn away with tears in my eyes,” said Quint, his voice cracking.
“The other volunteers came up to me and said you just have to keep going; that it affects everyone on their first visit, seeing the reality of it,” Quint said.
Many of the younger refugees, he said, “had somewhat of a command of the English language, but people over age 40 or so, most did not speak English, but I was able to communicate with a fair amount of them,” Quint said.
He spent a week there, helping by buying supplies at a local Costco-like store that included toiletries and food for men, women and children.
On the final day, he handed out about 500 candy bars that he had bought to appreciative children.
“The kids … they just looked at you with those eyes, like they couldn’t believe it,” said Quint.
Quint said that he spent approximately $5,000 of his own funds on supplies for refugees.
“I hope that other people will also be inspired when they go to local fundraisers to contribute because the people of Ukraine are in dire need,” he said.
Quint, who was born and raised in Conway, attended Kennett High School, graduating in 1974.
He was on the mound when the Eagles won their first state baseball title under Coach Bob Burns in 1974. He attended Broward Junior College in Fort Lauderdale and Springfield College in Springfield, Mass. In 1993, he was the managing partner of Hale Highland Development Corp.
Long a musician and music promoter, who recently spent four years in Nashville working on musical projects, he in the past presented shows for such acts as The Blend, a once-legendary local rock band. He is currently employed at TN Marketing of North Conway.
He said prior to his trip, he communicated with several Ukrainians online. Hearing their stories moved him to act.
“They still had internet or Wi-Fi, and they were communicating with me from their cellars, telling me the Russians were outside their homes. It’s so horrible.
“I won’t share the atrocities they told me … I don’t want this to be a political story, but suffice to say that Putin is a madman and it is beyond belief what the Russians have done to the people of Ukraine.
“Yet I heard inspiring stories, too — one of the shelter’s co-directors told me how people tossed their luggage off the train to make room to enable others to board, leaving Ukraine with just their pocketbooks,” said Quint.
“What struck me was that these people could be you and me — it is so inhumane what has happened. They have lost their homes, their jobs; and what they have seen … I felt I could help and I was there to give them hope and let them know people care,” he said.
He said he will continue to try and help and may have a musical fundraiser planned. For more information, call Quint at (603) 662-3456.
His efforts follow up on other local efforts, including those made by the Valley Originals local independent restaurants group, which during June has a percentage of sales of specials going to the World Central Kitchen that is providing meals for Ukrainian refugees, according to Terry O’Brien of the Red Parka Steakhouse and Pub in Glen.
Former Ukrainian resident Natalya Robinson of Madison — who attended the Red Parka events — is taking a break during summer in collecting items at her COACH store at Setters Green but says she plans to restart them in September. For further information, call her at the store at (603) 356-3295.
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